Carmat shares surge on artificial heart patient’s hospital discharge

(Reuters) — Carmat (FRA:CXT) shares gained nearly 20% yesterday after the French artificial heart manufacturer said a patient fitted with 1 of its devices had been discharged from the hospital.

The man, who was not named, was fitted with a Carmat artificial heart at Nantes University Hospital, in western France, in August last year as part of clinical trials.

CXT shares were up 18% to €78.45 by 09:37 GMT yesterday, giving Carmat a market value of around €335 million euros ($387 million), after earlier touching a 4-month high of €82. The stock lost 44% last year.

The patient was the 2nd to be fitted with 1 of Carmat’s artificial hearts. He was allowed to return home after receiving training on how to use the heart’s portable power and alert system, Carmat said in a statement. In late 2013 the company reported its 1st successful implantation at the Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris.

The device, which mimics a real heart using biological materials and sensors, is designed as a permanent implant that can extend life for patients without them having to wait for a donor. It also aims to reduce the side-effects often associated with heart transplants, such as blood clots and rejection.

The patients in Carmat’s first clinical trials suffer from terminal heart failure, when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to sustain the body, and would normally have only a few days or weeks to live.